Duke Brooks's Honor

While talking in the room earlier, Cheng Shi noticed that the wounds on the dwarf who had been killed were rather peculiar.

They didn't look like they were made by sharp weapons such as the daggers commonly used by assassins, but rather by blunter blades.

For example...

Cheng Shi looked around for a moment, then kicked out a blood-stained knife from under a bed.

Judging by the length and size of this knife, it looked like it belonged to the dwarves themselves.

A dwarf battle knife.

But perhaps someone was confident that everyone wouldn't stay here long, so the handling of the scene was quite careless, it couldn't even be called handling.

He didn't pay attention to these details at all.

"This is interesting..."

Cheng Shi recalled his conversation with A'ming and continued to observe the bodies of the dead dwarves.

Before long, he noticed something.

Looking at the positions of the six dwarves and the fight marks at the scene, it did seem like they had attacked the same target.

Perhaps Fang Shiqing had pulled Cheng Shi away in time, making A'ming, who was following closely behind, the unlucky one.

But what made Cheng Shi even more puzzled was that the wounds on the six people were not inflicted with the same force.

This didn't look like one person had taken them down; it was more like six different people had killed the dwarves.

Coincidentally, the killers and the deceased were both six in number.

"Fighting amongst themselves?"

Cheng Shi frowned, starting to wonder if assassins had such a talent for controlling people. At least for [Order], this kind of talent was not common.

"The scene is quite chaotic, but it's not without its gains."

Cheng Shi picked up a ring he had found on one of the dwarf corpses and squinted at it, the sunlight from the window reflecting off it.

He clicked his tongue as he examined it:

"The craftsmanship is truly exquisite. I wonder what skill could forge such a fine ring. Unfortunately, it's mine now."

He chuckled and pocketed the ring, then slowly walked out of the servant's quarters.

As soon as he stepped out, he ran into Bailing, who had a smile on her face and seemed to be waiting for him.

Cheng Shi's expression darkened, and he cursed with a laugh:

"You've latched onto me?"

Bailing, from somewhere, had gotten another set of clothes. She bowed gracefully like a noble lady and said with a sweet laugh:

"Hitching a ride, you don't mind, do you?"

"You can hitch a ride, but don't touch anything you shouldn't."

"Don't worry, boss, I'm very obedient. I'll only let you touch where you want."

"..."

Cheng Shi couldn't be bothered to argue with her and walked past her.

"Perfect, my current attire can serve as your attendant. Have you found anything?"

"What attendant walks in front of their master?"

Bailing quickly caught up and replied in a low voice:

"The manor is large, and there are many guests. I just knocked out a lady and got some information from her husband. Duke Brooks seems to have not appeared yet, and there are only half an hour left until his announced appearance."

Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself that women who didn't play by the rules were indeed quick at gathering intelligence.

He followed Bailing into the manor's central hall, weaving through the crowd of nobles, and soon spotted the others.

They had all changed into new clothes and were splitting up to investigate.

Cheng Shi took a quick glance at the hall and decisively left with Bailing.

"Boss?"

"The answer isn't here."

"Oh." Bailing responded softly and followed Cheng Shi's lead to another area.

Seeing her walk silently ahead, Cheng Shi suddenly felt something was missing and said:

"Aren't you going to ask me why?"

"It's enough that I'm obedient. I don't need to know why. Of course, if the boss needs someone to play along, I can pretend very well."

"..."

What kind of person is this? There's no fun at all.

Not to mention Song Yawen from the last round, even Chen Chong was better. At least he could give me a sense of accomplishment.

But some things, if not said, felt uncomfortable to keep bottled up.

"The Dwarf's ring is exquisite."

"And then?"

"The noble lords wouldn't pay attention to a Dwarf's ring."

"Oh, so?"

"So the target isn't here."

"I see, boss is amazing."

"...You should just shut up."

"Oh." Bailing smiled like a lark, drawing the attention of the surrounding guests. "So, boss, where are we going now?"

That was a good question.

Actually, Cheng Shi's initial target was the lower-class people who often dealt with these Dwarf refugees, but he suddenly felt that since the Dwarves came here related to the Duke, perhaps meeting the Duke would be a good choice.

So he pointed towards the stairs, signaling Bailing to go up.

Bailing's expression changed, and she exclaimed in a low voice:

"There are guards. If we go up brazenly, we'll be stopped."

Cheng Shi's eyes darted, and he said slyly:

"Play to your strengths."

Bailing froze for a moment, then understood.

She lifted her skirt and walked quickly towards the stairs. As soon as she reached the bottom, she was stopped by guards clad in iron armor.

Seeing this, Bailing quickly lowered her head and leaned in to whisper:

"The Duke needs me."

The guards' faces were hidden by their helmets, making their expressions unreadable, but the way they gripped their spears revealed their shock.

Perhaps they were contemplating the meaning of the word "needs."

Seeing no reaction from the two, Bailing extended her hand and made a gesture in front of her, hooking her index fingers together.

This was a vulgar gesture popular in the pleasure districts of the Isle of Hope, signifying subservient flattery. No lady with any status would make this gesture.

Or rather, only individuals in certain professions would use this gesture to indicate their price.

The two guards were clearly even more shocked.

They looked at Bailing's beautiful face, slender figure, and elegant demeanor, unable to connect her with this gesture.

"You..."

"I said, the Duke needs me."

"But the Duke didn't notify..."

"Are you saying the Duke must notify you when he has a need?"

"?" The guards were momentarily stunned.

Right, why should the Duke notify me?

Besides, what's wrong with letting a woman in? Doesn't the Duchess often bring men back?

The two guards exchanged glances, both convinced by their own reasoning, and took a step back.

Bailing was delighted and gave Cheng Shi a knowing look.

Cheng Shi chuckled inwardly but followed her with a deliberately reserved demeanor.

When the two guards tried to stop them again, Bailing's expression turned cold and she said, "How foolish, don't you know about avoiding suspicion? If you let me go up alone, what will happen to the Duke's reputation?"

After letting you go up, does the Duke still have a reputation?

The guards' minds experienced a slight overload for a moment, and then they resignedly let the little follower pass as well.

Of course, it wasn't because they considered the Duke's reputation.

It was because they noticed that the servant behind her was too handsome to be a mere follower.

He looked more like a pet raised by noble ladies...

In that case, did the Duke need her, or did the Duchess need him?

Never mind, maybe they both did.

I'm just a guard, why should I think so much?

Seeing the two guards let them pass, Bailing happily led Cheng Shi up the stairs.

Just as they disappeared on the second floor, Fang Shiqing and Xu Lu quietly walked over.

"Hello, we wish to request an audience with the Duke."

Fang Shiqing spoke gently and politely, so courteously that she didn't seem like a noble from Bruce Town.

"You wish to see the Duke?"

"The Duke is likely busy."

The guards refused them without hesitation, their icy demeanor difficult to accept.

Fang Shiqing's expression changed, and she secretly frowned, wondering how Cheng Shi and the others had gotten upstairs.

Xu Lu, even more incensed, shouted:

"Why won't you let us up? How did those two get up there just now?"

The guards heard her and raised their spears:

"No loud noises. No one is allowed upstairs to disturb the Duke. No one went up just now. Please leave."

At this moment, they finally remembered to protect the Duke's reputation.

If the Duke still had a reputation.

"You..."

"Let's go. Having them upstairs is enough."

"But that Cheng guy is a troublemaker."

Fang Shiqing felt a surge of satisfaction hearing this, but she still silently scoffed in her mind:

"How dare you say that so righteously? Is he more of a troublemaker than you?"

She didn't say it aloud to save Xu Lu's face, and simply walked away.

Seeing her "big leg" leaving, Xu Lu naturally hurried to follow.

While Xu Lu was being humiliated, Cheng Shi had already arrived in the Duke's room on the second floor.

But when he pushed open the door and saw the scene inside, his face immediately darkened.

In the spacious room, a middle-aged man in luxurious attire lay on the bed, his chest covered in blood, having long since breathed his last.

Bailing's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth in a gasp, "He is!"

"Shh! Someone's coming!"

Cheng Shi quickly pulled Bailing into the room, gently closed the door, and dragged her into the wardrobe opposite the bed to hide.

The wardrobe wasn't large and was filled with all sorts of clothes.

Cheng Shi had no choice and squeezed in immediately.

However, the space to stand was limited. After Cheng Shi took up most of the room, Bailing had to squat at his feet, barely covering herself with the hem of some clothes.

To close the wardrobe door, she had to tightly grip some support.

"Big sis, be gentle."

"Don't worry, I won't touch anything I shouldn't."

"..."

This was truly holding onto a "big leg" now.

Click.

The lock turned, and footsteps followed.

Before Cheng Shi could get a good look at the people entering, an angry female voice rang out.

"I only asked you to knock him out, not kill him! Do you know the consequences of doing this!?"

A deep male voice responded to her.

"Dilar, you have to trust me, I didn't kill him!"

Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, recalling who this name belonged to.

Dilar, Duke Brooks's wife, the town's foremost noblewoman who had her backside groped by a guard.

Then who was this man?